Spence Jr / Peterson / Showtime Live Streams

SHOWTIME Sports will stream two live boxing undercard bouts featuring Marcus Browne and Adam Kownacki this Saturday on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING PRELIMS prior to the IBF Welterweight World Championship between undefeated champion Errol Spence Jr. and two-division champion Lamont Peterson. The live stream, which begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, will be available for all media and online outlets to embed via the SHO Sports YouTube channel.

Browne, an unbeaten 175-pound contender from Staten Island, will face Francy Ntetu in a 10-round fight while undefeated heavyweight Kownacki, fighting out of Brooklyn by way of Poland, will take on Iago Kiladze of Kiev, Ukraine in a 10-round bout. Hall of Famers Steve Farhood and Barry Tompkins will call the action on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING PRELIMS, along with guest analysts to be announced soon.

SHOWTIME Sports will also stream the Spence vs. Peterson Fight Week Press Conference, Weigh-In and Post-Fight Press Conference on digital platforms in support of the first SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event of 2018, which begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from Barclays Center.

Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), of Dallas, will make his first title defense since travelling to England to dethrone IBF 147-pound champion and hometown favorite Kell Brook last May in Sheffield. Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs), of Washington, D.C., has won titles at 140 and 147 pounds and relinquished the WBA 147-pound title for the chance to challenge Spence. In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-feature, IBF Lightweight World Champion Robert Easter (20-0, 14 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, will defend against former champion Javier Fortuna (33-1-1, 23 KOs).

“Everyone who has seen me fight before knows it won’t be a boring fight. Even if it’s one-sided, it’s always going to be action packed. January 20 is going to be a tremendous fight and I’m going to put on a great performance. I’m planning to dominate.

“Defending my title in Brooklyn will be special. I have family in New York too so it means a lot that I’ll be able to defend at Barclays Center. New York is a boxing city so they really appreciate champions and know the sport.

“I’m excited to be fighting a guy like Lamont Peterson. I’m not fighting a regular no-name fighter. He’s going to bring the best out of me because he’s a true fighter. It makes the whole experience even better.

“The top spot in the sport is really up for grabs now and I’m coming for it. I don’t care who I have to face or where, I’m going to be the last man standing. That’s why we all get into this sport. I’m extremely confident in myself.

“Lamont and I both have big hearts and I think everyone will be able to see that in the ring. We’re both smart fighters so there might be some feeling out before we get going. But I expect it to be a dogfight.

“This community in Dallas is very important to me. When I was growing up here there were no professional boxers from here that I could look to as a role model. Once you have the resources to give back, it’s important to do it. I love being in the gym and helping the really young guys and giving them something to aspire to.”

“Errol looks really good in training. He has great focus. He is very detail oriented and keyed in on being the best version of himself. The determination on his face lets me know that he wants to leave no stone unturned and make sure everything goes his way on fight night. We win the fight in the gym not in the ring.

“Errol has to keep this mentality going into this fight and beyond, and he knows that. Winning one title is not what he wants. He wants to be undisputed welterweight champion. He’s very goal oriented and I believe he’ll reach that goal. He doesn’t take no for an answer. He’s going to push himself to the limit and attain his goals

“Lamont Peterson is very witty and intelligent in the ring. He’s a tough guy too. He brings that mental fortitude that you need to be successful. We have to be coming to this fight 100 percent and be focused the whole time. If we don’t, we may come up short.

“I have to be the best version of myself too. I try to get better and better each fight and each day in the gym. I know I have to be on top of of everything that could happen. Barry Hunter is a tough, intelligent trainer who brings a lot to the table. Lamont has a great team. It’s a pleasure and an honor to face them in the ring.”

Easter Jr. vs. Fortuna on Spence-Peterson undercard

The Errol Spence Jr. vs. Lamont Peterson undercard on January 20 will be well represented with IBF World lightweight champion Robert Easter Jr. (20-0, 14 KOs) defending his IBF belt against former 130 lb. champion Javier Fortuna (33-1-1, 23 KOs) in the co-feature bout at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Spence-Peterson and Easter Jr. vs. Fortuna will be televised on Showtime Championship Boxing.

The 26-year-old Easter Jr. has looked great lately with nice wins over Denis Shafikov, Luis Cruz and Richard Commey. At 5’11”, Easter Jr. is hard to deal with for anyone in the lightweight division.

Easter’s height and reach advantage makes him difficult to hit, and he’s able to fight equally well on the inside as well as the outside.

Fortuna has only 1 loss on his resume, and that was against Jason Sosa last year. Fortuna went to war with the wrong opponent, and he ended up getting stopped in the 11th round by Sosa. It was a thrilling fight to watch from start to finish. Both guys were throwing bombs from start to finish. If Fortuna can fight Easter Jr. in the same way on January 20, their fight should be an exciting one.

Fortuna is still a very good fighter despite his loss to Sosa. Fortuna came back from the defeat to beat Mario Beltre, Omar Douglas and Nicholas Polanco in his last 3 fights. Fortuna needs to be a little more disciplined with his fighting style, and he’ll be a much better fighter.

Fortuna throws a lot of looping power shots, which leaves him open to getting hit. His chaotic style of fighting has helped him through most of his career until recently when he met up with a fighter that thrives under those kinds of conditions in Sosa.